Patriots Journal: Belichick stands behind Gostkowski

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick rarely makes strong statements about one of his struggling players, but he did Saturday when someone asked about Stephen Gostkowski.

By PAUL KENYON

FOXBORO — Bill Belichick rarely makes strong statements about one of his struggling players, but he did Saturday when someone asked about Stephen Gostkowski.

The kicker has missed three field goals in the first two preseason games, including a 50-yarder that hit the right upright and bounced out in Friday’s 25-21 victory over Tampa Bay. Belichick did what he could to shut down any debate about whether Gostkowski’s job might be on the line.

“I have confidence that he’s one of the best kickers in the league,” the coach said.

Gostkowski has missed from 44, 53 and 50 yards.

“I think he’s had a good camp, he’s worked really hard, he’s in good condition. He’s kicked the ball well. He’s been hitting the ball very solidly consistently,” Belichick said. “I know that he’ll continue to work hard to do everything he can, and so will the other people involved in the operation, snapping and holding, however that turns out.”

The coach noted that the team has not settled in as to how it will use its place-kicking unit. Different players have played up front, and, most notably, the team has used three different snappers since the start of camp. Friday night, both Danny Aiken, the incumbent at that job, and linebacker Rob Ninkovich snapped. Ninkovich has previous experience snapping, going back to his days in New Orleans when he was still looking to establish himself in the league.

One reason the Pats are experimenting might be to see if they can save a roster spot. If Ninkovich can handle the job, then Aiken, who does only snapping, could be released, thus saving a spot for another offensive lineman or player at any other position. That would be going against the grain, since it has been standard practice for some time in the league to save a roster spot for a long snapper.

Belichick often speaks about how highly he values special teams, thus he would seem to be one guy who would want a pure snapper. Then again, Belichick often goes against the grain. It will be interesting to see which way he decides to go.

“Our overall field-goal operation has to be better,” the coach said.

The punting position remains up for grabs, with Zoltan Mesko trying to hold off rookie Ryan Allen. Allen has had a good camp and is posing a real challenge, to the point where he even has done some of the holding on field goals, a job Mesko has handled in the past. Mesko, though, has done nothing to hurt himself. He had a better night Friday than Allen did.

High marks for Logan

In his day-after conference call with reporters, Belichick spent much of his time discussing defense and positional battles on that side of the ball.

Belichick said the play of the game might have been the interception for a touchdown by rookie cornerback Ryan Logan. Logan has had an up-and-down camp, struggling at the start but improving as he has gone along. In part because of a lack of depth at that position, he has been on the field for more plays than any other Patriot through the first two games. He was victimized on a long pass to former Patriot Tiquan Underwood, but overall appeared to do a solid job. The third-round draft choice looks as if he not only has earned a spot on the team, but also will see playing time, especially if Alfonzo Dennard is not able to play. Dennard has both injury issues and legal problems.

“I think he’s improved in a lot of areas,” Belichick said of Logan. He also has shown position versatility, the ability to work both inside and outside, a trait Belichick values highly. A rookie cornerback has a lot to learn, the coach said.

“His technique, his recognition, and, of course, in the secondary, communication is such a big part of the game. No matter who you’re playing for or what you’re playing, being able to communicate with your teammates back there in the secondary, there’s not much margin for error,” Belichick said.

“That’s important for every player, especially young ones — to understand where their help is and know how to handle different formations, big receivers, bunch receivers, slot, no slot, whatever it happens to be, run force. He’s worked hard. He’s been durable. He’s been out there and gotten a lot of snaps, and he continues to improve with those repetitions, so he’s definitely making progress.”

“It felt good,” Logan said after the game. “I just wanted to get there as quick as possible. I couldn’t even tell you what was running through my head. I just knew it was a big play and I wanted to make it. You always want to score on defense.”

Safety first

One area where the team soon will have to make decisions is at safety, where a number of players have seen action and in different rotation.

“We had several good plays back there and made some good adjustments. But there were a few we didn’t get that we need to get,” Belichick said of the safety play. “One of the good things about working a lot of people is that you get to see a lot of different people, and at some point whenever those combinations come back up again there’s a familiarity.

“But at the same time, it’s harder for a couple people to just get really good and comfortable with each other as much because of the rotation going on, so we’re trying to balance that out,” he continued. “We’re going to have to make a decision on that here fairly soon down the line on how those rotations are going to go. But it’s a very competitive position and we want to make sure we give everybody a good opportunity and make the best decision we can.”

The numbers game

Does this signal a change in the Pats defensive schemes?

Brandon Spikes has had one regular-season sack in his first three years with the Patriots. Friday night, he had two.

For what it’s worth, while Tom Brady was on the field, rookie Kenbrell Thompkins was one of his receivers on 21 plays.

Fellow rookie Aaron Dobson, who had been thought to be the leading contender to start, along with Danny Amendola, was on the field for only two plays. Dobson did most of his work playing with the second and third units.

One number that did not please Belichick coming out of Friday night was under the penalty column. His team was called for 10 penalties.

“We’ve got to tighten that up,” he said.

Belichick made no secret of his approval of the plan to work against opposing teams as the Pats did the last two weeks against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay.

“I think last night was a really good end to a good, productive week for our football team, coaches and players,” Belichick said. “We got a lot out of the practices with Tampa. It certainly helped our coaching staff in terms of beginning to react to game-type situations, more of those and matching up against somebody other than our own team.

“The players did that, too. A lot of situations came up in the game that were good for us to learn from,” he said. “That’s the most important part of the whole process and the game, is us moving ahead as a football team, guys making improvements individually, guys that are working together being able to communicate and operate as a team in those groups or units.”